Begin Brewing!

I bought a Wil Wheaton Wootstout extract kit from Northern Brewer quite a while ago... so long ago, in fact, that I won't be surprised if this thing is undrinkable when it's finished.  I read the instructions and they seemed so involved at the time that I wasn't comfortable brewing it.  Well, today I had the urge to brew and not a lot of time, which is the perfect scenario to brew an extract beer. The Recipe 1 pound Flaked Rye 10 ounces of Black Malt 10 ounces of Roasted Barley 5 ounces of Carastan Malt 5 ounces of Crystal Rye Malt 3.15 pounds of Golden Light DME 3.15 pounds of Wheat DME 1 pound of Golden Light LME 3 ounces of Target hops 6 pounds of Golden Light DME 1 pound of Simplicity Candi Syrup 8 ounces of toasted and crushed pecans 3 ounces of cacao liquor 2 ounces of medium+ toasted oak cubes 6-8 ounces of bourbon (not included in the kit) 1 teaspoon of Wyeast yeast nutrient 1 Whirlfloc tablet 1 packet of Safale US-05 yeast 1 packet of Saf...

A good friend of mine loves Stevens Point Brewery of Wisconsin's Cascade Pale Ale.  He was dismayed to learn that it's no longer being made, and asked if I might be able to brew something like it.  Having not done many pale ales, I thought it might be an interesting challenge. When attempting to clone a beer, the first step is to research the available data on the original beer.  Buying and trying a few is a good start, but with this beer off the store shelves that wasn't an option. Research The brewery's description of the beer at some point (it's no longer listed) said: Point Cascade Pale Ale is handcrafted combining special top-fermenting yeast and a dry hopping process to create this truly classic American Pale Ale. The intriguing character is derived from generous quantities of the choicest Yakima Valley Cascade hops and the finest crystal, 2-row pale, and Munich malts.  The result is a delicious American Pale Ale with a signature fragrant hop bouque...

One of the beers I've brewed that I enjoyed the most was an extract-based Belgian Single from a recipe on the E.C. Kraus web site.  Having made the switch to all-grain brewing, I wanted to take a stab at brewing an all-grain version of the beer.  Using the Kraus recipe and the BJCP guidelines for the Trappist Single style, here's my all-grain recipe. The Recipe and Ingredients 8 pounds of Belgian Pilsner Malt 7 ounces of Biscuit Malt 4 ounces of Aromatic Malt 1 pound of Brewer's Crystals 1.25 ounces of Sweet Orange Peel 0.25 ounces of Indian Coriander, crushed in a mortar and pestle 0.8 ounces of Styrian Goldings hops pellets at 6.2% AA 1.25 ounces of Czech Saaz hops pellets at 3.2% AA 1 ounce of Czech Saaz hops pellets at 3.2% AA 1/2 teaspoon of Wyeast Yeast Nutrient 1 Whirlfloc tablet 1 tablespoon of pH 5.2 Stabilizer 1 package of Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II Ale Yeast 90-minute mash at 152F followed by 167F mashout for 10 minutes 90-minute boil with h...

Earlier today read a very good article on secondary fermentation from Home Brew Supply.  It backed up what I've suspected and experienced.  I'll summarize here and share my experiences. What is Secondary Fermentation? Techincally, secondary fermentation is any period of additional fermentation or conditioning that takes place following the primary fermentation period.  Generally speaking, secondary fermentation involves transferring a beer out of its primary fermentation vessel into a second sanitized vessel. The point of secondary fermentation is to get the beer off the original cake of yeast and the sediments that have fallen to the bottom of the fermenter.  When yeast goes dormant at the end of fermentation and begins to die off, the yeast cells will disintegrate and give off chemicals that negatively impact the flavor of your finished beer. Is Secondary Fermentation Still a Valid Process? The secondary fermentation process came into existence in the ...

Back in January, I brewed my first Belgian Quadrupel.  It turned out so well that I have only 4-5 bottles of it left, and that's only because I've been jealously guarding them.  I decided to brew it again today, and also to change it up a little to see if I could improve on it. Ingredients 12 pounds of Belgian Pilsen malt 12 ounces of Caramunich I malt 8 ounces of Melanoidin malt 5 ounces of Special B malt 4 ounces of Aromatic malt 1 ounce of Chocolate malt 2 pounds of Iraqi Date Syrup 4 ounces of Turbinado Sugar 4 ounces of D-90 Candi Syrup 0.25 ounces of Indian Coriander seeds, crushed 5 grams of Grains of Paradise, crushed 0.85 ounces of Styrian Goldings hops pellets @ 6.2% AA 0.65 ounces of Northern Brewer hops pellets @ 10.1% AA 0.50 ounces of Czech Saaz hops pellets @ 3.4% AA 0.5 teaspoons of Wyeast Yeast Nutrient 1 Whirlfloc tablet 1 tablespoon of pH 5.2 Stabilizer 1 Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey yeast smack-pack Changes Since Version 1.0 of the Recip...

I've been on a quest to find what, for me, is a perfect Belgian Tripel recipe.  I'd like something that's a cross between Tripel Karmeliet and Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde.  It should be slightly sweet, not too bitter, have a nice head on it, and have the typical spicy/fruity notes that true Belgian Tripels are noted for.  I've brewed a few extract-based tripels that weren't bad but weren't close to what I wanted. I've also brewed two or three all-grain tripels.  One of those either soured a bit in the kettle due to a stuck mash or I added too much coriander to it - I don't know. The bottom line is that I'm still chasing that Holy Grail of a tripel recipe I love. The good folks at CandiSyrup.com post clone recipes of popular Belgian beers which of course use their products for the adjunct components.  They have a recipe online for a Tripel Karmeliet clone .  I had intended to brew their recipe as-is but couldn't source all the ingredients loc...

Cooler with ice water (left) and cooling jacket with fermenter inside (right).  Temperature controller and temperature monitors visible. As I suspect most home brewers do, I've constantly worked to improve my knowledge, equipment, and processes.  I've gone from extract to all-grain, from my kitchen stove to a dedicated RIMS system, from plastic bucket fermenters to stainless steel fermenters, from pre-crushed grain to freshly-crushed.  I've even made efforts to alter my water chemistry to better match the style I'm brewing.  I think my beer's gotten better as a result of all that. One aspect I've not controlled well so far is fermentation temperature.  In part, this has been because I didn't think I needed to.  I brew primarily Belgian beer styles, and most of the Belgian abbey brewers let the yeast ferment at whatever temperature it wants to.  They don't try to cool it, because they claim this can make the yeast stall out.  They don't heat ...